


Wander

by hyosgardens



Series: SIGNAL CODES [2]
Category: ONF (Band)
Genre: Android!Yuto, actually this isn't really theory based this is just me manipulating the lore to my advantage, android!hyojin, android!jaeyoung, android!minkyun, android!minseok, based on on/off, based on we must love, based on why, does anyone actually know what's going on in the mvs, hyojin-centric, i have so many lorefics i gotta post before beautiful beautiful destroys my theories, implied feelings?, it is implied that changyoon exists whoops sorry bro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-17 19:21:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29597547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hyosgardens/pseuds/hyosgardens
Summary: Seungjun turns back to Hyojin. “Why do you think they’ve got weapons?” There’s only mild curiosity in his voice. Hyojin sits on the bunk across from him as still as he can.“I don’t know.”
Relationships: Kim Hyojin/Lee Seungjun | J-Us
Series: SIGNAL CODES [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2174472
Comments: 3
Kudos: 10





	Wander

**Author's Note:**

> this is based on [this](https://twitter.com/tionluvr/status/1344014791522836484?s=20) lovely edit by my good friend louise :)
> 
> also if you squint this can be a pt.2 to my earlier fic [Barcode](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27756400) lmaoo

_**Multiple androids have been seen wandering around our streets with deadly weapons and an unknown motive. They look just like us, and they talk just like us. No one knows where they came from or what they are. Could this be the start of an epidemic? Is this when androids take over from humans? One thing is for sure: BEWARE OF THE BARCODE.** _

“Have you seen this?” Seungjun asks, pushing himself around on his swivel chair to face Hyojin. 

Hyojin regards the newspaper he’s being offered with disinterest. Something clicks from behind the desk and a glowing holographic version of the article flickers to life in front of them, the heading scrolling in a loop like a silent reminder. The cyan fluorescents reflect in Seungjun’s eyes and silhouette around part of his head like some kind of techno-halo.

“No,” he says.

Minkyun’s head pops up from the space between the desk and the wall. “I think I fixed it,” he grins, and begins extracting himself from all the wires that are tangled together on the floor. _Archaic,_ Hyojin scoffs to himself. 

“Nicely done,” Seungjun praises, giving the taller boy a solid slap on the back. Hyojin watches with slight contempt. They are always so affectionate. 

Seungjun turns back to Hyojin. “Why do you think they’ve got weapons?” There’s only mild curiosity in his voice. Hyojin sits on the bunk across from him as still as he can.

“I don’t know.”

￫

They wake up to the alarms blaring, cacophonous and grating, echoing in their sleep-addled minds. 

_BREACH. BREACH. ALL REPORT TO THE COMMONS IMMEDIATELY. ENTERING LOCKDOWN INITIATIVE. ALL REPORT TO THE COMMONS IMMEDIATELY. ENTERING LOCKDOWN INITIATIVE._

The stark white hallways are havoc, drenched in red flashing light as the base’s inhabitants make a frenzied dash towards its center. 

Seungjun catches Hyojin’s eye through the madness. 

“Someone used the Telegate?” 

Hyojin shrugs. “Your guess is as good as mine,” he shouts over the noise. 

The alarms are less obnoxious in the Commons. Minkyun appears at Seungjun’s side just as they arrive, an excited grin painted on his face. Hyojin scowls. Minkyun is always smiling. 

There’s animated chatter throughout the group of dependents as they collect at the center, circling around something with fervour like a pack of dogs. Seungjun pushes through the crowd as Hyojin hesitates at its edge. After a beat of deliberation, he follows with a roll of his eyes. 

What Hyojin sees when he gets through the multitude makes him stop in his tracks. 

He forces his face to remain neutral. On the floor a boy lies supine, dressed in the same uniform as those that surround him. He is hauntingly familiar, small body, little features. His eyes are open, staring blankly at the ceiling. 

“Isn’t that-” 

“Minseok?” Minkyun cuts Seungjun off.

There is silence save for the alarms still ringing throughout the rest of the base. One heartbeat, two, nothing. 

Minseok takes a gasp of breath. 

￩

_“Unfortunately, he’s made a grave mistake, Four-Twenty-Two. He won’t be going back with you.”_

__

“What do you mean? I don’t understand, Eight-Twelve has been so dedicated-”

__

_“He will_ not _return with you.”_

￩

“You’re still so easy to read, Jinnie,” Seungjun crows. “So, so easy.”

Hyojin clenches his jaw. He doesn’t know how much Seungjun knows. He can’t risk exposing what he’s doing. 

How long has it been? Since he’s seen that face, those dark eyes focused on him? 

It’s electrifying. 

He steadies his breath as the other stalks towards him. Seungjun looks gaunt. The smile pulling at his lips is cold as he grips Hyojin by the collar and _shoves._

￫

Sometimes he thinks back to that stupid newspaper. 

Seungjun’s contemplative expression as he hacked past the base’s blockers to see, as he called it, the “real news.”

His face when he realized what their roles as dependents were actually for. 

Calling it an epidemic—that had been a little dramatic. The experiments were voluntary. 

Something crackles in his mind at that thought. Like a glitch. 

He recalls flashes of the procedure. Mostly, he remembers administering the rest of them. 

Seungjun was a genius, there was no stopping him once he knew what he wanted. It was a shame his parents gave him up to the base, but it was even more of a shame that the base couldn’t put him to use. 

He wonders how Seungjun would have solved some of these problems. 

Hyojin sighs and goes back to tending to his ward. The image of Seungjun running from him, a second time, is fleeting. 

￫

“How is he?”

Minkyun doesn’t mean the Tube. 

Hyojin sighs and uncurls himself from his horrendous posture, spine cracking noisily. 

“How do you always know?”

“You keep touching your Code.”

Ah. 

Hyojin chuckles lowly. “Isolation will drive him insane.”

Minkyun hums, moving to check the data scrolling from his holographic projector. “And One-Twenty-Three?”

“Strong. Healthy. He’ll be useful.”

“Of course.”

The minutes tick by in silence. Hyojin watches Minkyun work. He stares at the Code on the left side of his neck. 

Eleven-Sixteen. 

A signal beeps on Hyojin’s radar. He glances at it; it’s one of the trackers they placed on the newer models. Minkyun looks up from what he’s doing expectantly. 

“He’s found it.”

￫

“I don’t think I can do this again.”

The fracturing in his memory capsule is getting worse. He hears it glitch and crackle every time a thought is recalled. Seungjun’s face is pixelated, save for the moment with the newspaper. 

Hyojin’s lost so many people playing mad scientist. 

Minkyun barks out a laugh. “Three-Sixteen has encountered an insurgent. That’s hardly something to worry about.”

“An insurgent with a _module gun.”_

“He’s clever enough to stay out of its reach. They can’t count all of us.”

 _“He’ll_ die trying to do that,” Hyojin mutters. He may have overridden the coding that had forced him to track and kill Seungjun, but that wouldn’t dissuade him from keeping an eye on him now. His inventions were clever—Hyojin knew he was being watched in return. 

“He’d make a good android,” Minkyun muses. 

Hyojin imagines it. Pulling Seungjun from the Tube, downloading and creating a memory capsule. Programming fundamental functions into him. Sending him out, away. 

He watches as Three-Sixteen knocks the module gun out of the insurgent’s hand. Maybe he should start naming this one too. 

“We could send One-Twenty-Three.”

 _“Jaeyoung_ is tracking Seungjun. It will be fine.” 

￫

“Must you do this? You already know I exist.”

There’s a module gun pointed at Hyojin’s head. Seungjun stands behind him with it balanced comfortably in his hand. 

“Is that what you think this does?” 

Hyojin can barely hear him over the glitching of his memory capsule. “I’m sure that’s part of it.”

“Why did you do this, Hyo?”

He can sense the others searching for them. They don’t have much time. Seungjun won’t hesitate to shoot him. 

“Minseok needed to be avenged.”


End file.
